Who'm I again?
by Greyshield
Summary: Allen's lost his memory and Road sees endless possibilities. What will happen when she takes him to the Earl? Takes place before the Exorcists gain possession of the Ark, but after Allen loses his arm and gains the Clown Crown.
1. Confusion

It was dusk. A white-haired young man aimlessly roamed the streets, his expression anxious. The sun set behind the surrounding buildings, leaving only a faint evening glow to see by. A sudden, slight movement caught the young man's eye, and he spun around.

"Who's there?" he spoke, attempting to make his voice sound strong, and not shaky. The words were strange on his tongue. He knew them, but he could not remember using them.

A dark haired young girl stepped out of the shadows, a wicked grin on her face. She sparked something in the young man's mind. Not really a memory, but something. He felt like he should know her.

The girl leaned casually against a lamppost. She looked up at him through half closed eyes, her head tilted at a cocky angle. She seemed to be sizing him up, like a predator. Finding herself satisfied, she strode over to stand in front of him.

"My name is Road," she said. She stepped still closer, startling him, her eyes fixed with an unusual curiosity. The way she smiled, you'd think she knew something he didn't. As naturally as though she were his little sister, she placed her hand in his and looked up at him. Perhaps she was his sister? He wouldn't know. But why would his sister introduce herself to him? A formality, perhaps? He recalled no such thing.

The young man glanced down at their hands. Both of hers were soft, pale, and cool. The hand that she held, however, was disfigured and red, with a cross embedded in the back of it. Somehow, he knew such a thing was not normal. The girl, however, appeared to take no notice.

"Are you lost?" she asked, sweetly. She seemed like a nice child to him, but she was very forward, and almost spooky. She had the oddest look about her, and something in the back of his mind screamed _danger!_ But that was ridiculous. How could a child be dangerous? Perhaps she was strange and overly familiar, but that didn't make a person bad. And she didn't look like those _other_ people; the different ones that had been giving him funny looks. They scared him, and they seemed to keep popping up and following him places. It was spooky.

"What's your name?" she asked him. "I can help you." The words were honey coated; dripping with concern, but the young man hesitated.

"It's…..Allen…..I…I think." He responded finally. Truthfully, he couldn't quite remember his name. But that name, when he asked himself the question, seemed to come to mind first.

A slow, frightening grin spread across her face. "Come with me, Allen," she said. "I'll take you where you belong." Before he could protest, Road was dragging him by the hand into the shadows, her eyes glinting in silent triumph. The grin on her face was unparalleled; his compliance thrilled her to no end.

The Millennium Earl would be pleased, indeed.

***** A Note From ME**

**Sorry, DGM fans, it seems people would like me to continue this story, but I don't actually know enough about the Millenium Earl, settings, and plot to do so. At least, I couldn't do it very well, and I'd surely make some stupid mistakes. I plan to continue this story, but until then, I will read up on DGM and reread it. (My problem is that the library in my town has a very sparse manga selection, and I'm not sure exactly how long Borders will tolerate me being there without paying for anything. After all, they aren't a library.) If you have any suggestions or ideas for how this story should continue, please PLEASE tell me, and I will keep in touch. Thanx!**


	2. Fear

Komui Lee sipped his coffee, his expression grim. "You're certain that Allen is nowhere to be found?" He asked his sister and her two accomplices.

"Quite positive," was her abrupt reply. She was anxious, Lavi, who stood next to her, observed.

"And Timcanpy?" Komui questioned.

"We haven't seen him either."

"Well, then. Get some rest," He stated, his voice morphing into something softer.

The three exorcists nodded in unison and stepped away from the desk.

"Stupid Beansprout," Kanda muttered, once they were out in the hallway.

Lavi threw back his head despairingly. "All I did was turn my back to fight off an Akuma for five minutes, and when I turn around? He's GONE!"

"It's not your fault, Lavi," Lenalee murmured soothingly, but with a slight falter that could only be from worry.

"I shouldn't have left him to fight that level three alone!" Lavi wailed. "His innocence evolved...I thought he could handle it..."

"There's nothing we can do for that Walker-brat now," Kanda said. "He's on his own. Let's get some rest." Coldly, he turned his back on them and rounded the corner.

Lenalee maintained a semi-composed expression as she walked, then ran, then activated her innocence, all in the pretext of getting to her room as fast as possible. When she collapsed on the bed, her dark hair a curtain in her face, she burst into tears and slid to her side, drawing her knees up to her chest.

* * *

Komui would be very busy, indeed. He had to admit he was immensely relieved due to the fact that there were less potential suitors present to pursue his dearest Lenalee. However, he was also grief-stricken, and he walked with that weight on his chest, fearing the worst: the death of an exorcist, and a beloved friend. Not to mention that, should Allen Walker die, Lenalee would be devastated. So devastated, in fact, that her fighting abilities could become impaired, causing her to be injured in battle! This fear reigned above Komui's grief, intensifying his sense of duty. Had Allen been taken into the Ark? Had he been killed? Were the Noah attempting to extract and destroy his innocence? Trained search parties needed to be organized. Golems needed to be sent out. Masters needed to be found! Oh Hell, Cross Marian! Where were you when your student needed you?

"Komui."

The Head of the Science Department, high off of expresso, leapt a skittish metre or so into the air, landing an impressive distance from his original place of ponder. A body's length away, Kanda was not very pleased to be covered in lukewarm coffee. Komui flushed a fearsome crimson.

"K-Kanda? Do you need something?"

"I would like to lead a search party for Allen Walker."

...

Komui searched for a trace of humor in the boy's face. It was comon knowledge that Yuu Kanda _loathed_ Allen Walker; _loathed_ his demon eye and his childish gaiety. In Kanda's gaze, Komui found only steel.

"Very well, then. We will strategize a team and you will dispatch..."

"Tomorrow. We will dispatch tomorrow."

Kanda never once broke eye contact.

"You must rest. How will you have time to form an adequate team?" Komui replied, after a brief pause.

"I have a team. Lavi. Lenalee. We were there when he vanished. We possess all the existing data concerning the akuma he was fighting, the location, the conditions..."

Komui wearily straightened his posture. Light from the lanterns on the wall reflected off of his glasses, hiding all of the pain and fear in his eyes. He straightened the glasses on his nose and, with a mighty effort, he sighed.

"Very well, Kanda. Notify the others, and get some rest. You will all need your strength."

With a bow, Komui turned, and they parted in the corridor.

* * *

**Reviews! Reviews! My kingdom for reviews! After two years of ponder and frivolous study, the maiden voyage of the writer continues!**


	3. Brainwashed

That strange little girl took "Allen" through a door that hurt his eyes, all the while clutching "Allen's" hand so not to lose him. "Allen" observed that the girl found nothing impressive about the door, so he also decided not to let it surprise him. Taking his cues from the girl, "Allen" sombered his expression as they entered an ornate building and walked through an impressive hall before entering a well-furnished room occupied by a single large and peculiar looking individual. "Allen," however, chose to hang back as the girl ran to embrace the stranger.

From inside the body called "Allen," the boy attempted to affix his soul to the name he'd dug out of his subconscious. Though he had already determined the unusualness of his left arm, he found that his right arm felt just as foreign to him. In fact, the entire body seemed quite separate from the soul within. Uncomfortable in his own skin, the young man stood uncertainly before the zany-looking creature with the hat.

"Hello, there!" The creature said. "What have we here? Rhode, where did you find this poor wretch?"

"I found him for _you_, Millenium Earl."

"Look at him! Rhode, you've brought me a wreck!" He chastised, while "Allen" observed the animated conversation with an almost frozen inability to act.

"No problem, though," the Earl said briskly. "We'll have his _memory_ restored in no time!" He smiled brightly and Rhode grinned with a sort of lazy disinterest.

"Memory?" Allen asked. "What do you mean?" He shifted on his feet, wishing there was something in between him and the imposing personage of the Earl.

"You poor soul," The Earl crooned, coming impossibly close. "You've forgotten _everything._ But no worries. We'll have you fighting _exorcists_ in no time! After all, they_ are_ your natural enemies. _They're_ the ones who tore everything you ever knew right out of your hands."

_"What?"_ He asked, his eyes widening.

"The _exorcists_ wanted to take away your _only_ family."

And, just as the Earl had determined, that word, _"family,"_ drove home. Allen's innocence flared up in sudden rage, and the confusion on his face was replaced with fierce, programmed determination.

"I must eliminate the exorcists." Allen intoned, with a certainty that betrayed no disbelief.

The Earl for once was positively giddy, but even more than that, he trembled with deranged laughter from wich the very room seemed to recoil.

Rhode's disinterested grin broadened into one of satisfaction. The fixed look in her eyes intensified. Lust. Power was close at hand.


	4. Back to Square One

Lenalee knew one thing for sure as she and her team arrived upon the scene of the incident: Every second meant Allen alone, Allen afraid, Allen tortured...and she couldn't possibly consider the alternative, because a world where Allen Walker didn't exist, stuffing his face, brightening a room, treasuring his friends...a world like that was an impossibly gloomy thing to comprehend.

_Besides,_ she thought, examining the wreckage left by the encounter, _Allen still has something to tell me._

**Flashback**

_"You know, Lenalee, I don't mind going on missions with grumpy Kanda when you and Lavi are around. I actually really like it!"_

_"Allen, you know that missions always mean something's at risk," She scolded, but a hint of a smile tugged at her lips all the same._

_"I know, I know. And I always put those things first when we're on a mission. But I can't help feeling like I'm spending time with, ah...nevermind." Allen ducked his head slightly to hide his expression._

_"Is something wrong?" Lenalee inquired._

_"Well, ever since I lost Mana I haven't really had a family. I always imagined a family as brothers and sisters doing things together, and getting in trouble together, and helping each other. And, there's always someone who cares about where you are and how you're doing. But I never imagined it would be so involved. You're more than that. You, you and Lavi will ask me how I slept...I don't think I've ever been asked that! And you care about my injuries; I get teased all the time when I'm feeling bad, and then I just_ have_ to smile, _and _you'll wait for me to finish eating before leaving the table." The incredulity in his eyes was rather comical, and he emphasized his words with copious hand gestures. __Lenalee smiled, touched and a little saddened by Allen's neglected childhood._

_"Of course we do those things for you, Allen. Remember, I experienced the same lonliness when the Order took me away from my brother. We _care_ about you, Allen, and we _never_ want you to feel alone."_

_She placed a confirming hand gently on his shoulder._

_"Thank you, Lenalee. Ever since I joined the order and met you, Lavi, Komui, and even Kanda, I've been learning that there are some things I've been hardening my heart to for a long time. It's so, so amazing to have all of these friends...no, this _family,_ and I'm still only learning to be cared for and care for others for a _reason,_ and not just because it's their right to have someone looking out for them." He bumped shoulders with her gently as they walked down the mid-afternoon street._

_"I'm so glad, Allen. You know we all love you."_

_"Lenalee, can I tell you something?" He asked, shifting tones a little. Color crept softly into his face, and Lenalee braced herself with quiet curiosity._

_"Gosh, I don't know what words I'm supposed to use. It's kind of...I mean, I've never had to..."_

_Allen's gaze, which rested somewhere behind and a little to the right of Lenalee, suddenly sharpened as his cursed eye came to life. All the color drained from his face before he uttered his next words, shoved Lenalee to the side, and dove past her with his innocence fully activated._

_"Akuma!"_

**End Flashback**

Lenalee wiped away a troublesome tear that had found its way onto her cheek, and tried to regain her composure before she turned to her companions.

"My golem's getting something," Kanda stated emotionlessly as the little black creature whirred and buzzed around a deserted and relatively undamaged alleyway. He leaned over and picked up a tattered, singed scrap of cloth from the ground.

"Allen's glove!" Lavi exclaimed. "He was here!"

"Of course he was, baka!" Kanda snapped. "And I'll bet you anything the Noah have taken him into the Ark."

Kanda tossed the damaged left-hand glove to Lenalee, who received it with an almost inaudible gasp.

"Let's move on," Kanda growled. "It's almost dark, and there's a base near here where we can spend the night." He turned his back and Lavi followed him glumly.

Lenalee lingered, feeling none too good about the hours they would be spending not looking for Allen. She fingered the glove and stared hard at the spot where Kanda had found it, willing the surroundings to reveal Allen's location to her.

"Are ya coming?" Lavi called, beckoning her after him with a concerned glance. "You won't find anything in the dark."

Lenalee nodded briefly and slipped her hand into the glove, strapping it to her wrist. It was too big. She clenched her fist and followed her team. They were one step closer. A thousand steps away.


	5. Learning What I Knew

"This is your servant," Rhode sang, pulling a none-too-comfortable Allen into the presence of a handsome, elegant young man. Allen's left eye seemed to peer _through_ the man, where it rested upon a foreign, enslaved soul. Allen shuddered.

"What's wrong with him?" He asked. "There's something _awful_ inside!"

"He's an Akuma, Allen. The Akuma are _all_ your servants. They don't mind it, _really._ They _like_ serving you. Besides," She grinned, "They don't have a _choice." _Allen shuddered again as Rhode brought him up to the frightening beast. He half expected her to embrace it, like she had the freakish Earl, but instead she spoke to it coldly.

"Akuma, this is the Fourteenth, the one you reported to us. Give him everything he needs. If anything _undesireable_ should happen to him, you can be sure that you will be eliminated."

"As you wish, mistress Rhode," The Akuma intoned.

"Bye-_bye," _Rhode crooned, wrapping her arms around Allen's neck and planting a kiss on his cheek. Just like that, she was gone.

"Please come to your quarters, Mr. Allen," the Akuma requested politely. "There is a bath and new clothes awaiting your arrival, as it appears, if you'd excuse me, that you have been 'through Hell.' Your private rooms are this way, Sir."

"Please only call me Allen," The boy requested. "And please, sir, what should I call you? And why did Rhode call me the fourteenth? And say that you reported me? I'm sorry, I'm just so confused," Allen appologized, bringing a hand to his forehead. He slumped a little, suddenly dizzied by his confusion and all of the new concepts that had been presented him, and the Akuma quickly moved to support him.

"You surely need to rest, Sir...ah, Allen. Please, come to your rooms and refresh yourself. I will answer your questions in time."

As the Akuma carried him to his room, Allen requested weakly, "But please, Sir, what is your name?" As his consciousness faded to black, he heard the creature answer,

"I have none."

As Allen came to, he found himself lying on a soft bed in a well-furnished room. Indeed, there was a hot bath waiting in the adjacent room, and a full set of clothing laid out on the chest of drawers in the main room. With the uncomfortable feeling of being observed, the young man shed his clothing. An ornate jacket, some rather ordinary looking clothing, and one tattered right-hand glove. He wondered briefly about its match, but then noted the peculiarity that his rough and ugly left hand would need protection from the elements. It did not occur to him that the ill aesthetics of that hand might bring fear to another person, as indeed the girl Rhode, the Millenium Earl, and the Akuma had all taken it with little notice.

Allen wondered about the location of the Akuma who had brought him here as he slipped into the hot bath. After enjoying it for a time, and washing his hair and body with several fine scented soaps and shampoos, Allen climbed out and began to dress. His body was sore, he found, and it occurred to him that the injuries had probably been sustained in his supposed recent battle with the exorcists.

"I wonder where that Akuma is. There are so many things I wish to know."

"You called, Sir?"

Allen jumped a mile into the air.

"You frightened me!"

"My appologies, Sir. Allen."

Allen shifted on his feet in front of the very ready and willing Akuma, uncertain about what he should do next. Fortunately for him, the Akuma acted on his own, briskly crossing the room and collecting the scattered articles of clothing, much to Allen's embarrassment.

"I will dispose of these unholy garments at once," The Akuma said, curtly.

Feeling a slight pang at those words, Allen quickly cut in. "Ah, actually, Mr. Akuma, do you think you could keep them for me?"

The Akuma's eyebrows shot up in apparent distaste. "You recognize that these are the garments of an exorcist, do you not?"

"I, well...I just feel like I should keep them. I think they'll help me remember. But if it's going to get you into trouble, please keep it a secret."

"As you wish, Master Allen." He moved to the bed and began meticulously folding the garments.

Allen looked all around the room and nervously scratched the back of his head before carefully wording his next question.

"Mr, ah, Akuma, Sir, I'm really not exactly sure what Akuma and exorcists _are._ Do you think you could tell me a little more? I just feel so lost, you know?"

The Akuma's lips thinned.

"To answer these questions, you must first know that the Noah are the true apostles of God. Exorcists are the false apostles. They use a substance called innocence as weaponry, and this they believe to be their gift from God. Your hand, Sir, if you will." He picked up Allen's ugly left hand and without exactly touching it, he traced the cross embedded in the back of it. Allen could feel his hands shaking.

"The innocence is deadly to Akuma. And you, sir, have been cursed with it." Allen drew back quickly, alarm registered on his face.

"Am I harming you, then?" He blurted. "Please don't put yourself in danger for me."

"I receive no harm, Master Allen, unless you attack me using your innocence," he stated calmly. "Though I admit it nerve-wracking to be in its presence."

"Was it the fault of the exorcists?" Allen queried.

"I tell you it was not," came the reply. "Birth and fate cursed you with both the innocence and the lineage of the Noah. The latter a blessing, it is botched and degraded by the innocence. Though the innocence is a great power, only its renouncement will allow you to achieve your full potential as a true Noah."

"Can it be removed, then?" Allen wondered aloud.

"That has surely already been attempted," The Akuma revealed, "But the attachment of the innocence to the body fully spanned any such primitive attempts. It has infected more than your arm, sir, but also your _soul."_ Allen felt a chill go down his spine.

"And what of the Akuma, sir? My eye sees strange things inside them," He confided, bringing a hand up to cover his scarred left eye.

"That eye is a curse, be you Noah or Exorcist. For I will tell you what you see. The soul trapped inside of this form," And here he gestured to his own body, "The source of my energy, I may add, Is that of a human who departed from life." He let the words sink in for a few moments before continuing.

"The graceful body you observe with the eye lacking the disease, once belonged to a different human who mourned the departed. The Millenium Earl, having the desire to create another pawn, appeared before the grieving individual, and promised to restore the life of his loved one to an artificial, skeletal body. The temptation being great, the grieving man complied, Little knowing that fastening his departed loved one to the artificial body would only enslave him to the Earl. Once the loved one was retrieved, by the mourner calling his name, the Earl commanded his slave to kill the hopeful mourner, and wear his skin."

Allen sat silently, listening with wide eyes.

"The soul that inhabits this body and the soul which was born naturally into this body were brothers in life. But I, I am Akuma. That is why I have no name." Solemnly, he locked gazes with Allen. Silent moments passed, and the Akuma looked away.

"Then I shall call you Itamu, for you were mourned."


	6. Dreaded Master

"Aw, Hell, Tim. How come my idiot student is so **expletive** _needy?"_

Cross Marian murdered another Akuma with an almost derisive flourish, before giving the golem his full attention.

"Well then, lead the way, Tim. If that brat is lucky, we'll get to his head before the Noah do. Besides," he mumbled, "I've got a mean load of debt to pass on."

With a tip of his hat, Cross Marian turned his back on the scene of violence he'd just directed, and followed the golem into the ashes.

"If he dies before I get there, I'm going to kill him."


	7. Hide and Seek

Lenalee woke with the sun, facing the eastern window on her side with her left hand cupping her face. She still wore Allen's glove. It smelled like him, she realized; sort of warm and living, like the woods under a sun that warmed without searing. There was the dust of the library, a seasoning of dewdrops and Jerry's most excellent cooking; the humanity of sweat and the destructive scent of scorch marks. Lenalee sighed with something like remorse before rising to face the day.

"We must try to find the beansprout's golem," Kanda said after they'd taken their leave.

"Timcanpy or General Cross are our best bets," Lavi agreed.

"Do you think we should seek the Noah?" Lenalee suggested. "They have a mysterious agenda. It might be part of their plan for us to find Allen."

"I don't think we should chance it," Lavi warned. "We should probably go with our allies on this one.

Kanda nodded curtly. "And so the futile search for General Cross begins anew." He commenced to contact headquarters for any information on Cross' whereabouts while Lavi and Lenalee listened in anxiously.

"There've been a lot of false leads, Yuu,"

"Don't call me that!"

"Sorry, Kanda...but there's one you might want to check out. It's a little vague and rather sketchy, but a Mongolian traveler reported a drunk helping him dig his cart out of the mud on the road for some provisions. He met another general at his destination yesterday, and recognized the emblem the man was wearing. We have already dispatched a search party."

"Inform your party to keep in contact with us. We will specify a location at which to meet them, and take over the search from there."

"It will be done." Kanda turned to his team.

"We're going to Mongolia."


	8. Meeting the Family

"Come meet your family, Allen," Rhode said gently. "Akuma," She barked, "You can stay here."

"Please," Allen voiced quietly, "I would prefer it if _Itamu_ came with me." He was proud to hear his voice gain strength as he expressed his desire.

"How _cute,_ Allen-kun! You've _named_ it! But don't get too attached. Akuma are highly dispensible." She grinned wickedly.

"It would trouble me if further harm came to Itamu." Rhode raised a skeptical eyebrow.

_"Further_ harm? Oh, I'd forgotten, you have that unusual eye, don't you?" She smiled sweetly before pulling Allen down the hall. He kept a firm grip on Itamu's sleeve.

Rhode burst through the ornate doors without knocking, gaining the attention of two individuals who lounged in plush chairs, drinking tea and apathetically reading the newspaper in a guise of human normalcy.

"Waizuri; Tyki, come meet our new brother, the fourteenth." Rhode's eyes glinted red...or at least Allen thought they did. It could have been a reflection of the patterned carpet.

The two men sat in plush chairs, each bearing a deeply unimpressed affect. Allen fiddled with the cuffs of his sleeves. "Hi?"

The one called Tyki ran a hand wearily through his hair as he lazily rose his eyes from the paper.

"The Fourteenth, you say? It's been a while then, Brother. Done with trying to kill the Millennium Earl, are we?"

"Shhh! Tyki, he doesn't remember any of that yet." Rhode languidly draped an arm around his head, covering his mouth, which he quickly and irritably uncovered.

"You mean to say he's still a human?" Tyki tilted his head and squinted, scrutinizing the boy.

"All in due time, Joido," Waizuri interjected. "Look at him, our conversation is completely lost on those virgin ears."

Allen blushed fiercely, to which Itamu whispered, "They mean your lack of enlightenment regarding your particular heritage, not your sexual prowess."

Waizuri, who had not looked up all this time, finally glanced at Allen.

"You intend for him to be schooled in the meantime, Rhode." It was not a question.

She cast him a mild glance, in which Allen could have sworn he detected irritation.

"The Akuma will teach him."

"The Akuma?" Tyki exclaimed, his expression amused more than anything. "You'd trust the Fourteenth's education and welfare to an insignificant pawn, would you?"

Allen knew it wasn't his place to comment, but glanced uncertainly at Itamu anyway, whose expression remained blank. Allen turned back to the Noah, but still noticed the akuma's hand come to rest lightly on his shoulder.

"Why not?" Rhode responded. "Look, he likes it!" She gestured towards the pair, grinning.

Allen felt his face flush again.

"I have plans for Allen, as you know full well," she continued. "He will be taught. And he will fight exorcists."

"Fight?!" Allen interjected, alarmed.

"Of course, little brother." She strode over, trailing one hand on his cheek. "You must return the favor. After all, the exorcists separated you from your _true_ family." She smiled sweetly.

"My..." Allen's gaze hardened, expanding yet encompassing nothing. "I must destroy the exorcists."

"That's right, Allen." Cupping his neck, Rhode reached up and kissed him full on the lips.


	9. Chasing Dreams

"AAAAAHHHHHHHGGGG!"

Allen woke up screaming.

Again.

He blinked several times, images of akuma souls dancing before his eyes.

"Allen?"

His head whipped to the side, strands of his over-long and mussed hair partially obscuring his vision. He sighed as he recognized the familiar akuma soul, fading in-and-out of focus behind the human form of Itamu, like a horrifying double exposure. Allen groaned and slumped over, turning his head to avoid looking at the fearsome incarnation of his nightmare.

The bed sank beside him as the akuma seated himself. Allen felt the cool touch of his sole friend's hand as it caressed his bare shoulder. The movement became rhythmic, soothing.

Itamu had learned that to a certain degree he must mother Allen. The aspiring Fourteenth had no memory, only hatred for the exorcists who had estranged him to the world, and a baffled curiosity for the Noah that called him brother. He was anxious all the time, uncertain of his training, self-conscious about his many curses. Rhode...she wanted a lot of things from Allen, his cooperation, his love, control over his very heart's desires. Her plans and the prospect of fighting exorcists were all very new and terrifying to him.

Itamu sighed. A level three, he had will enough to feel almost human. Almost. Enough to pity Allen. And...he hoped...he dreamed...enough to care. Was this caring for another person? Had the brother that called him back to life felt this way? Surely longing after the dead and pity for the suffering were different? He had heard that there were different kinds of love, that thing that humans cherished enough to perversely enslave their spouses and kin to the Earl. But were they really so different?

Itamu knew he didn't love the Noah. They were his masters, he their slave. He didn't love the Earl, his creator, either. Interaction with other akuma, as with the Noah, was on the basis of business. The dead brother whose voice brought him back into the world, was barely a memory. The soul trapped in his body was merely a source of power, not actually alive; he wasn't sure he _could_ feel anything it had felt for its brother.

But perhaps, he thought, he could love this _Allen_, this human who had been kind to him, and named him, and needed him, as a child unfamiliar with the evils of the world needs a guardian._  
_

_I _am_ an evil of the world._

Allen's breathing had long since slowed. Itamu slid down the headboard and turned to lay with his back to Allen. Allen shifted, and suddenly Itamu could feel the thrilling contact of his human warmth.

_Is love a human warmth?_

The akuma closed his eyes, retreating into his mind, the still form beside him his anchor. There it was, that glowing sphere where all of the boy's memories were stored. Fearful of tainting it, he hesitated, then touched it. Hot, searing memories assaulted him, textured with emotions; lashes of anger, surges of joy, pain; a glimpse of dark eyes and a warm, dancing thing in his chest and hands that he couldn't identify, that pulled at the corners of his mouth...

"Le...lenalee..."

The boy was becoming agitated again.

The akuma turned onto his back, mirroring the boy's new position. Staring at his furrowed brow. He grasped Allen's warm, human hand. Pushed the hair out of his face.

Allen calmed.

Slowly, gently, the akuma straightened the bedclothes with his free hand.

_To love another person is to see the face of God, you say? Then cursed am I among all men._

* * *

**Oh, oh, I see how it is. 200 views on my new chapters and NO REVIEWS?! Who do you people think you are, reading stories and neglecting to offer a worthy critique?! Shame, shame! Kira-sama will SMITE YOU. :) Have a nice day!**


	10. Playing Pretend

"Now Allen, what did I tell you about feeling sorry for the exorcists?" Rhode pouted, glaring at him sternly.

"They are devious cretins who deserve the most horrific kind of death imaginable, and ought to be sent to the seventh circle of Hell after that to continue their eternal torture until the day that Noah are no longer the world's supremest beings, denoting that they will continue to suffer forever..."

"Good, good, now blast its face off."

"Yes ma'am."

It was just another tiresome day. Poor Allen had been training all morning, but he was a zealous young fellow and not one to give up easily. Despite the immense amount of stress he had been facing ever since arriving in the Ark eight weeks ago, He'd thrown himself wholeheartedly into his studies and his training. Itamu occasionally helped, but Allen was terrified that in a burst of uncontrolled battle fever he might accidentally destroy his sole companion. So Itamu watched from the sidelines, as Allen and Rhode decked it out with makeshift exorcists, their fellow Noah, and each other.

"Let's take a snack break, Allen. Your resolve seems to be slipping...why don't we pause and remind ourselves why the exorcists are such insufferable fiends?" She grinned wickedly, leading Allen to a tray laden with snacks...well, to a normal human it may have been several full-course meals, but Allen naturally needed to eat a great deal to keep up his stamina. When they were comfortably seated, Rhode interrupted a reluctant Allen from his face-stuffing with a languid, "Now, Allen, tell me exactly why you hate the exorcists." The boy gulped and lowered the rest of a half-destroyed croissant from his mouth.

"They're crooks. They stole all of my memories."

"Goooood, good. Tell me more."

"They undermine the Earl's authority by destroying his servants."

"Precisely. Such insight!" Rhode clapped and scooted closer to Allen.

"They're blasphemers. They claim to be the apostles of God, and it's their fault that I have this...this.." He gestured to his arm. "Curse!"

"Exactly." Rhode gave him a genuine smile. "Did you know, Allen, that the exorcists are also responsible for your cursed eye?" She lightly brushed the scar with one finger, her gossamer touch sending shivers down his spine.

His eyes widened. "My..."

"Yes, it was an exorcist turned akuma who did _that_ to you. It only goes to show how useless they are, they don't even make good pawns! But it's okay. No matter how many curses you have, you're still our _family_." She rested her head against his shoulder.

Light flashed behind Allen's eyes. "Family," He repeated, nodding determinedly.

* * *

"Rhode, when can I battle the exorcists? We've been training for weeks!" Allen was getting impatient. Noah or exorcist, his battle lust and heart for justice remained firmly intact. Rhode smiled.

"Soon, Allen. We're going to dispatch a group to meet them by the end of the week." She took his cursed hand, leading him along with her. "Would you like to see the humans? They're quaint little beings, really. I'm not so fond of them as Tyki or Sheril, but their little games _are_ rather sweet."

"Um...what kind of humans?" Allen couldn't really remember much about humans. He knew they looked like Noah, but weaker and softer, and they weren't good for much except making pawns, since their emotions were so volatile. Rhode dragged him around a corner and through a door ("Stay, Akuma!") and suddenly he was blinking rapidly under a sun that was too bright, trying to make sense of the smells and sounds that assaulted his senses.

"This is Milan. Isn't it just adorable?" She gestured to the magnificent architectural structures as though they were towers made from children's building blocks.

Indeed, it was nothing compared to the Ark, but Allen was quite impressed that mere mortals could create such masterpiece. He felt his fingertips tingle with restless energy; his head snapped to the side as a melodic sound caught his attention.

"Rhode, what's that?" He pointed in the direction of the noise with his good hand, eyes wide with urgent curiosity. "It's making me...restless."

"Oh," She responded nonchalantly. "I had forgotten about the fourteenth's...talent. It's _music_, Allen. Did the exorcists take that from you as well?"

Allen frowned. "I have to...I'll...I'll be right..." And he was moving, pushing, dodging through the crowd towards the sound, the _music,_ leaving Rhode completely behind, overcome by this nagging need to discover why it was so _familiar._

"OUCH!"

Allen stopped, distractedly, realizing that in his haste he had knocked over one of the humans, a woman, about his age. Acting reflexively, he offered a hand and pulled the flustered human to her feet.

"Sorry, I..." He began, only to be cut off.

"Hey, why don't you watch where you...oh." She was looking at him with fascinated surprise. Allen noticed her pupils dilating. Her expression morphed into something alluring. "Why all the rush, handsome?"

Allen blinked.

"I..I..."

Suddenly, a pair of arms wrapped around his waist from behind. He glanced down, startled, to see Rhode glaring at the human girl

"Allllleeeeennn, you said you'd take me to buy luuuunnnch!" Rhode's tone was uncharacteristically whiny and childish. She pouted, crossing her forearms over his chest.

"Oh...I.." Began the woman, flustered. "Sorry...bye!" She disappeared into the crowd.

"Humans." Rhode scoffed, still clinging casually to Allen's coat. "They never know how to treat a supreme being. C'mon, I wasn't lying about lunch. Italy has wonderful food."

Feeling his stomach rumble, Allen agreed that lunch was a good idea.


End file.
